Air Force's Calhoun deflects questions about CU opening

Following his annual custom, Troy Calhoun didn’t want to specifically address the possibility that he might be a candidate for another school’s head-coaching job.
This time, the school with the vacancy is a couple of hours north. The University of Colorado fired Dan Hawkins. Calhoun has taken...

Following his annual custom, Troy Calhoun didn’t want to specifically address the possibility that he might be a candidate for another school’s head-coaching job.

+ captionAir Force head coach Troy Calhoun along the sidelines against Houston on Sept. 13, 2008, at Gerald J. Ford Stadium at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. The game was moved from Houston because of Hurricane Ike. Air Force won 31-28. Photo by KEVIN KRECK, THE GAZETTE FILE

This time, the school with the vacancy is a couple of hours north. The University of Colorado fired Dan Hawkins. Calhoun has taken Air Force to three bowl games in his three years and will go to a fourth this year, so he would seemingly be an obvious candidate. Air Force spokesman Troy Garnhart said it is not the school’s policy to comment on such matters, nor would it discuss whether a school has called to inquire about Calhoun.

Calhoun, an Air Force alum who has often talked about his love of the academy and the importance of its mission, wouldn’t totally rule out anything but did speak about the future at Air Force when asked about the possibility of Colorado calling him for the job.

“I’m going to think about getting our guys ready to go this Saturday and see what we can do to make sure there’s a really good freshman class coming in the summer of 2011 to the Air Force Academy,” Calhoun said.

Calhoun, who has been rumored to be a candidate at other schools the past two years, including Tennessee last year, was asked if he had any interest in the job.

“I have one interest. What it is, is to do everything we can right here to get ready to play New Mexico on Saturday,” Calhoun said. “You’re allowed to have those ideas. You are. We won’t.”

During the Mountain West teleconference, Colorado State coach Steve Fairchild addressed Hawkins’ firing.

“I think Dan’s a tremendous football coach,” Fairchild said. “You don’t do what he did at Boise State without having tremendous talent as a football coach.

“It’s a bad part of the business. It takes a whole lot of people to win, and when things aren’t going right they look to the head coach.”